New Orleans Saints playoff report: Having Harper back will help Saints on defense

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The Saints also love to use Harper as a blitzer on a regular basis. And last but not least, he’ll also spend time covering dangerous tight end Vernon Davis.

Although Harper has been inconsistent in pass coverage during his career, he has had success against the athletic Davis in recent years. No doubt, though, the Saints will use several different approaches to keep Davis from hurting them on Saturday.

NOTES: Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma missed practice Thursday, but he should be fine. The team just wanted to rest his lingering knee injury, especially since they made the cross-country flight to San Francisco later in the evening. Vilma, who has been battling through the injury after having a clean-up surgery two months ago, will also play a huge role in run defense against his longtime friend and rival Gore. The two were teammates in both high school and college in Miami. Vilma hasn’t been 100 percent for most of the season, but he has still made an impact on games down the stretch. They count on the active athlete to cover a lot of ground across the middle of the field, as well as making on-field adjustments as the “quarterback” of the defense. … Receiver Lance Moore missed practice again Thursday and remains questionable to return from his nagging hamstring injury. The Saints still have great depth at receiver, though, and will cause fits for the 49ers’ defense with or without him on the field.